Spotlight on Turkey and Italy at the 2022 Mediterranean Games

The Italian women and the Turkish men stole the show at the Mediterranean Games, held in Oran, Algeria. Both teams clinched the team titles as well as multiple individual event titles. Heading the Italian women and the Turkish men, Martina Maggio and Adem Asil, respectively, showed off their true capabilities by winning team, all-around, and individual event titles.

1. The emergence of the Turkish Men:

The Turkish men reached heights never before achieved in Turkish gymnastics history. The team of Ferhat Arican, Adem Asil, Ibrahim Colak, Sercan Damir, and Ahmet Onder won Turkey’s first-ever team title at the Mediterranean Games. Adem Asil also won the men’s individual all-around title, another first for Turkish gymnastics at the Games.

This generation of Turkish MAG athletes are unlike any before. The Ahmet Onder, Adem Asil, Ferhat Arican, and Ibrahim Colak quartet qualified as individuals to the Tokyo Olympic Games last summer, and are looking to qualify a full team by the time Paris rolls around. The historic victory for the Turkish men here shows that a historic team final appearance at the upcoming World Championships is very possible.

2. Italian Women’s Team dominance:

The Italians dominated the women’s side of the competition. The team of Angela Andreoli, Alice D’Amato, Asia D’Amato, Martina Maggio, and Giorgia Villa won the team title with a 161.950. Headlining the meet was Martina Maggio’s performance here. Her stellar performances not only helped the Italian women clinch gold, but also lead to Maggio winning the all-around title with a 54.864. For the past quadrennium, Maggio was more-or-less a B-team athlete, overshadowed by the rise of the 2003 seniors. Since competing at the Tokyo Olympics last summer, Maggio has been riding a career-high, showing that she is an essential asset to the Italian program.

Want updates? Subscribe here!